


Traditions

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-05-12
Updated: 2003-05-12
Packaged: 2017-11-01 10:28:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/355604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lex shares a Luthor Christmas tradition with Clark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Traditions

## Traditions

by Wavelength

<http://www.50megs.multiversesl.com>

* * *

* * *

Dedicated especially to Iggy and Kit, without whom this story would not have been written. 

Also dedicated to Annie, Lady Angel (see, stalking _does_ pay off!), Ren (I did try to email you a thanks for your wonderful feedback, but the daemon kept sending it back!  <sad frown>), Tilla, Byrdie, Livia, Kari, Henry Jones, John Snead, and anybody else I accidentally missed. I really do appreciate all the support. This one is for you! 

Sorry this is a bit late for Christmas, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Please let me know if you do or don't! 

Timeline Note: This is set the Christmas following "I Give You." 

* * *

Lex Luthor stared down at the objects scattered across the floor by his feet and sighed. He really should have finished this days ago, but the plant had kept him so busy the past several weeks that he'd been lucky to catch a few hours sleep let along find the time to wrap Christmas presents. Now it was ten o'clock on Christmas Eve, and though he was desperately tired, he knew he wasn't going anywhere near his bed until this one last task was completed. This year would be the first since his mother died that he actually had reason to indulge in a beloved, nearly forgotten tradition, and he'd be damned if he missed the chance. 

Casting about for the items necessary to wrap gifts, Lex had to smile when his eyes landed briefly on the tree in front of the study window. Right before his schedule had become merciless, he and Clark had spent an entire day decorating that tree. It had definitely been a memorable experience for both of them, as neither had any idea how to approach a joint Luthor-Kent tree. 

"Don't you have any ornaments or garland or something to put on it, Lex?" Clark had asked after they'd finally wrestled the six-foot tall tree into the stand. 

"Ornaments?" Lex returned archly, glancing up from plucking pine needles off his shirt. Clark knocked his hands away and started doing it for him as Lex continued. "Oh yes, there are ornaments. Twelve boxes, if memory serves, of the most ugly, godawful pieces of glass and metal Dad's secretary could find." 

Clark's eyebrows rose. "They can't _all_ be that bad. Where are you hiding them?" 

"Suit yourself," Lex shrugged and led the way to the attic. 

They dragged all twelve boxes and crates out of storage and sat down in front of the fireplace to sort through them. Lex knew what to expect and so was braced for it when Clark lifted the lid off the first box. Clark actually recoiled when he got his first real look. 

"God, Lex, you weren't kidding!" he exclaimed, gingerly picking up a bulb as if it were made of meter rocks and holding it to the light. It didn't improve with illumination. "These things are _hideous_. What was that secretary thinking?" 

Lex snorted. "I doubt it was her idea, Clark. I told you before, Lionel doesn't do anything in half measures. If he can't be around to personally make the Christmas season one long nightmare, he can certainly try in spirit." 

"Your dad can be a real jerk, too," Clark muttered, mouth tightening into a frown. He glared at the ornament in his hand for a moment before a slow, evil smirk replaced the frown. "Is there any reason we need to keep any of these?" 

"No," Lex replied a little warily, not sure what to make of the teenager's expression. "Why?" 

"Good." With a deft flick of his wrist, Clark lobbed the bulb into the fireplace. It shattered with a heartwarmingly satisfying crash. 

They went through the entire Lionel collection, laughing and cheering and egging each other on until every one of the abominable things was destroyed. As fun as it was, however, it left them with nothing to put on the tree except a few strands of colored lights they'd found in the bottom of one of the boxes. 

Lex had suggested driving into town to buy more acceptable decorations, but Clark had been struck with a sudden desire to string popcorn. The idea of a rustic Christmas tree in the middle of all his father's elegant decadence had appealed to Lex's wicked side, so he'd readily agreed. Or perhaps it had been the happy look on his lover's face that had made him so amenable. Either way, the two of them had spent one of the best afternoons of Lex's life stringing popcorn and cranberries, cutting out snowflakes and stars, and making paper chains and lanterns to go on _their_ very first tree. 

The overall effect had been simple but beautiful, and Lex's smile widened a little before exhaustion and frustration weighed his mouth down again. That after had been the last significant amount of time he'd been able to spend with Clark in weeks, and Lex knew a large part of his sleeplessness was due to Clark-deprivation. That was going to change, starting tomorrow. He'd cleared his entire schedule for the next week and a half; after they spent Christmas with the elder Kents, Lex planned on holing up with Clark in the castle and doing his damnedest to make sure that neither of them left the bedroom for the rest of that time. 

First, though, he needed to get these presents wrapped properly. After a few more minutes of preparation, Lex sat down and determinedly picked up the first gift. 

* * *

Lex woke with a start, hands protectively clutching the partially wrapped box to his chest, away from whoever was trying to take it from him. "No," he protested sleepily, pulling against the gentle but insistent pressure. "Mine." 

"The whole point of gift-giving is to actually _give_ the gift, Lex." 

"Clark." Once he'd identified the voice, Lex relaxed, but he didn't relinquish the box or open his eyes. "What're you doin' here?" 

A low, husky chuckle answered him. "Rescuing you from a crooked spine, apparently. C'mon, let's get you to bed." 

Lex started to nod then shook his head. "Can't," he insisted, hugging the present in his arms closer. "Gotta finish first." 

"Lex . . ." 

Something in Clark's tones pierced through Lex's exhaustion and forced his eyes open. The young man's face was only a few inches from his own, and he was smiling down at him with the most extraordinary expression. Not awake enough yet to decipher that look, Lex blinked owlishly and smiled back. He always smiled back at Clark, no matter what the circumstances. Lex raised one sleep-heavy hand and brushed a stubborn lock of hair off Clark's forehead. It immediately fell back into place, making Lex's smile grow. Clark's breath caught, and the intense expression sharpened. 

"Clark?" Lex questioned, smile fading a little. 

His lover ran the back of one finger down his face, temple to chin. "You are so beautiful by Christmas light, especially when you smile." 

Lex ducked his head, his face reddening. He'd heard a vast assortment of compliments and adoring phrases in his life, but none had ever had the power to make him blush the way Clark's did. Because when Clark spoke the words, Lex knew he meant them, that he wasn't after money or favors. In Clark's eyes, Lex wasn't the bald billionaire freak - he _was_ beautiful. He didn't think he'd ever get use to that, but he was willing to spend a lifetime finding out. 

"So are you, love," he managed, brushing a soft kiss in the palm pressed against his cheek. "You -" A huge yawn cut off his next words. 

"-need to get some decent sleep," Clark finished mock-sternly. "As in lying down in a proper bed instead of sitting on a cold floor." 

"No!" Lex denied vehemently, scrambling backwards until he fetched up against the couch. "You don't understand, Clark. I _have_ to get this done tonight. It's tradition." 

Startled by his reaction, Clark hesitated a moment then crawled slowly over to Lex and leaned against the couch beside him, careful not to touch the other man. "What kind of tradition, Lex?" he asked quietly. 

Lex swallowed and toyed with the loose ribbon on the half-wrapped package. "My m-mother always wrapped the family gifts on Christmas Eve. She never put nametags on any of them. She didn't have to. Mom always wrapped each one in such a way that it was obvious who it was for." The nervous fidgeting stopped, and Lex's voice lowered. "The year before she died, she let me help her. I haven't done it since, haven't wanted to." He lifted shadowed eyes to those of his lover's. "Until now." 

Clark didn't say a word, just curled an arm around Lex's back and pressed close in silent comfort. Lex closed his eyes and allowed his head to rest against the broad shoulder for one long moment before reluctantly straightening. Any longer, and he didn't think he'd be able to resist slumber's call. 

Clark shifted a little to accommodate the movement and slanted a look over the already completed gifts. "So that one there," he pointed to a present wrapped in bright red and blue paper and encompassed with a broad lavender bow, "is mine?" 

Lex nodded. Clark pressed a kiss to the top of his head and continued. "That one then," this package was covered in brown kraft paper stamped with a muted evergreen and holly print and bound together with green taffeta twine, "has to be Dad's. Which means that the one you've got is Mom's." 

Both boys studied the paper half-taped to the box in Lex's lap. On it, Mrs. Claus sat in the middle of a group of happy, laughing children, feeding them cookies and smiling benevolently down on them all. Clark met Lex's slightly apprehensive gaze. "I couldn't have picked better myself, sweetheart." 

Reassured, Lex nodded his thanks then focused all his attention on this one last present. With Clark watching patiently, he managed to get the paper affixed properly, but the blue and silver ribbon defeated him utterly. A frustrated tug on one end tumbled the box to the floor. Before Lex could retrieve it, Clark picked it up and set it on his own lap. Lex started to object, but Clark shushed him with a kiss. 

"Let me help," Clark whispered against Lex's lips. "Your mom shared her tradition with you, so sharing is part of it, too. The tradition wouldn't be complete without it." 

Put that way, Lex couldn't say no. Clark's face brightened with relief at his acquiescence. With another gentle kiss, Clark said, "Thank you, Lex." 

Clark started to tie the ribbon then stopped and tilted his head towards Lex. Reaching up one hand, he yanked the afghan his mother had give Lex for his birthday and folded it around his lover's slender form. He gave a little tug. 

"Why don't you lie down? Just until I'm done? We don't want you to fall asleep in the middle of opening presents tomorrow, now do we?" 

Barely able to keep his eyes open, Lex nodded and slowly slid to the floor. Clark caught him and guided his head to lay on one thigh. Snuggling into the blanket, curled tight around Clark's warm, solid presence, Lex Luthor finally slept. 

End. 


End file.
